If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Important: Note that this discussion board is not part of the main ProBrewer site and thus this site requires its own unique login. The two sites do not share logins.

I have what was probably an earlier model, but I bought it used for about a grand. It worked, but had lots of drawbacks. A friend of mine built a new arduino controller allowing us to change every parimeter, and now it's working great!

$8,000 out terrible machine.

I purchased one and had no problems for the first year. Now...some valves stuck. Others won't open. Some won't close. I'm assuming a control panel issue. The unit is completely useless and I have no way to wash my kegs anymore. The company will not respond my my numerous requests for information or help. We are a small cidery and it's hard to toss $8,000 in the trash, but you get what you pay for. Stay away!

I've had one for a couple of years now and it worked pretty well up until a few months ago when the socket for the heating element melted. I decided to rebuilt the whole thing since I have quite a bit of experience with wiring. When I opened the control box, I was stunned by how shoddy the wiring was. Really. It looked like it was done by someone who hasn't got a clue on how to properly wire anything and there was no fuse protection at all. Forget anything close to UL standards. Once I cleaned up the wiring, added some terminal blocks, added a fuse, hardwired the connections that needed to be secure and waterproof, and moved the control box to a drier location on the frame, it worked fine again.

I repainted the frame with Hammertone paint so it lasts longer (was going to power coat it but decided not to spend the extra $), tidied up the hoses and wire routing, and installed a waterproof box to house all the solenoid connections to finish it off. It's pretty solid now and should last us a few more years. All in all, I probably wouldn't have purchased one from them if I had been able to see one before doing so. As others have said, their communication is pretty much nonexistent once they get your money, which is unfortunate to say the least. Luckily, I have the skills to keep this thing going so I will until it no longer becomes feasible.

Bad!

Was the socket melting at the cheap control box or at the heating element? Pretty sure standard Edison plugs aren't rated for open drip proof applications. Did you have your unit on a GFCI protected circuit?

Our unit had tons of issues rendering it completely useless on arrival. I had to do a bit of rewiring, plumbing and shielding to get it into a state that we felt was even SAFE! Even the suction hoses were sub-par collapsing when the pump ran starving it of flow.

Recently I was contacted by another company with a Noble keg washer asking what it would cost to get it working right. So I spent some serious time thinking through the situation and in just the materials (Replacing the cheap $50 ball valves, getting rid of the shoddy control box with exposed high voltage, and creating a system that can be customized as needed for any application.) In just materials alone it'd cost over $5,000 to make things right.

I purchased one and had no problems for the first year. Now...some valves stuck. Others won't open. Some won't close. I'm assuming a control panel issue. The unit is completely useless and I have no way to wash my kegs anymore. The company will not respond my my numerous requests for information or help. We are a small cidery and it's hard to toss $8,000 in the trash, but you get what you pay for. Stay away!

Update. Scot from Probrewer finally returned my numerous messages. I sent in the control panel, had them fix it and got it back a few weeks later. First time use...no go. More problems than when I sent it in originally. I'm on the fence with replacing the relay module ($8 on Amazon) and all the valves. I'm not sure how much more I want to throw into this thing. It certainly is a giant POS.

Update. Scot from Probrewer finally returned my numerous messages. I sent in the control panel, had them fix it and got it back a few weeks later. First time use...no go. More problems than when I sent it in originally. I'm on the fence with replacing the relay module ($8 on Amazon) and all the valves. I'm not sure how much more I want to throw into this thing. It certainly is a giant POS.

We wer in the mrket for a new washer and were strongly considering a Noble given that we're relatively close (two hour drive.) Communication was good, he "had what we wanted on hand" he then forgot what we wanted, and went radio silent when we let him know how close we were and that we would want to come pick it up (seeing it in action before leaving with it) we never heard form him again despite numerous calls and emails.

Glad we decided to go Premier and didn't get burned, sorry to anyone who wasn't so lucky!

The importance of a quality keg washer.....

Originally Posted by BlackH2O

We just received a two headed keg washer 2 weeks ago. I am very satisfied with it, for the price. Since it costs about half of every single other quote we received. Sure a red hat would be nice, but then there is the price involved. Since they are probably the first point of failure, upgrade them when the time comes.

-control box is little more than a project box, I won't disagree there, but it should be sufficiently water proof having used these type of boxes myself.
-as far a purging of a dirty keg, the initial HW rinse should address this issue. We had an issue with some of our hoppier kegs but Scott said if I returned the box they could change the setting to what I choose.
-the wiring is a bit unprofessional looking but I don't fret over cosmetics usually.
I haven't used it enough to have an issue with the hoses so I can't address that.

I talked the brewery owner into buying this unit as I couldn't justified the 2X price of others, so yes it's rough but so is paying for a $14K keg washer. My biggest issue is with the lack of back-flo preventers to avoid accidentally depressurizing the cleaned kegs. Overall, the washer is OK, not great but Noble could certainly address their communication skills. I was ready to strangle Scott myself, he doesn't seem to understand how annoying the lack of communication is.

So unless you want to pay a lot more this is about the only cheap option and all I can say is that since it has arrived I have only had to clean a few kegs but the head brewer and his helper have been able to keep up with keg cleaning so I haven't had too. That in itself makes it worth it. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt because I tend to be cheap and am not impressed with touch screens and fancy options.

I have heard many people talk about the bad customer service or the lack of quality of the equipment with regards to this particular keg washer. Don't spend hard earned money on substandard equipment for a substandard experience.

I believe regardless of where a brewery is looking to save money, buying a low quality semi-automatic keg washer is not the way to go. The proper cleaning of your package and the proper evacuation with CO2 will lead to the best container for your product. Improper cleaning and CO2 purging of your package will destroy the flavor and longevity of your beer and lead to possible infections. Yes, it may cost a little more upfront for a good semi-automatic keg washer from a company with good customer service but it is worth it. Don't let your beer suffer and ruin your reputation with your customer base by using an inferior product. Being able to know and trust your equipment is key to a happy brewery.

Update 2

Originally Posted by hefele

I purchased one and had no problems for the first year. Now...some valves stuck. Others won't open. Some won't close. I'm assuming a control panel issue. The unit is completely useless and I have no way to wash my kegs anymore. The company will not respond my my numerous requests for information or help. We are a small cidery and it's hard to toss $8,000 in the trash, but you get what you pay for. Stay away!

I have analyzed every aspect of this machine. Looks like faulty actuators. I was fortunate enough to find a couple Toneheflow actuators but need more. Looks like I can order these directly from China. Anyone with a Noble Keg Washer purchase these in the States? Of course Scot from Noble won't return any voicemails or emails. It would be amazing to purchase these directly from Noble. But, this giant POS company is basically a scam.

I decided to change the actuators and make this unit work until I can afford a better washer. Mine doesn't drain all the sanitizer which makes the CO2 pressurize pointless. (That valve malfunctions every time anyway). So after sanitizing I flip the keg upside down on a 5-gallon bucket with a gutted keg coupler. Usually the gallon or so sanitizer drains out and I pressurize manually with CO2. I do reuse the sanitizer and put back in the basin.

Not ideal...but it works. I will purchase a Premier in the future. You get what you pay for.